Selim Yenel
President of Global Relations Forum and former Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Turkey to the European Union (2011–17)
Selim Yenel (born 1956, Istanbul) entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1979. He was posted to the OECD, Paris (1981 – 84), Turkish Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan (1984 – 86), UN in New York (1988 – 92), Turkish Delegation to the European Union, Brussels (1994 – 99). He returned to Ankara and dealt with EU matters up until the opening of accession negotiations (1999 - 2005). He was Ambassador to Vienna (2005 – 09), Deputy Under-Secretary for Bilateral Political Affairs and Public Diplomacy (2009 – 11), Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Turkey to the European Union (2011 – 17), Undersecretary at the Ministry of EU Affairs (Jan 2017 - July 2018) until EU Ministry and Foreign Ministry merged, and First Deputy Secretary General at the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Organization (2019 – 20). In January 2020, he became President of Global Relations Forum. He recently published a book in Turkish, The European Union’s Turkey Challenge. He is married and has a son and a daughter.
Speaker Schedule
Saturday, February 10, 2024
at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (HKS) and TBDWar and Reconstruction: Crafting a Comprehensive Strategy for Ukraine's Prosperous Future Baiba Braže | Tymofiy Mylovanov | Stefano Sannino Moderated by Serhii Plokhii
Challenge and Opportunity: Building Momentum in Migration Policy Anikó Bakonyi | Dimitris Kairidis | Selim Yenel Moderated by Elaine Papoulias